Welcome to the Leicester Bangs Blog - check regularly for arts and music news, occasional previews and lots of reviews.
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Monday, 24 February 2014

Goodness, this 14-track collection sounds remarkably
fresh and full of life - which is a little unexpected as The Nymphs’ sound
harks back to the girl groups of the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s, rather than anything
overtly contemporary or new. Of course, it’s their sheer melodicism that
carries the day, and propels the listener through a series of songs, drenched
in harmony, and solely reliant on the vocal prowess of Jane Hendry, Bek
Chapman, Clare Hendry and Kelly Day.

Almost completely a capella – there’s the occasional
beat for the purists to contend with – sublime arrangements underpin their
songs and provide plenty of variety. The Melbourne quartet earned their spurs
in their local bars and hostelries, collecting plaudits and acclaim wherever
they’ve set up their mics, and working with various Australian musical
luminaries along the way – together with the occasional TV appearance to help
widen their audience even more.

All that talent and experience pays immediate
dividends on “It’s Been A Long Time Awaiting” - the group’s debut long player. Indeed,
highlights come thick and fast, right from the off, when the opening cut (and
title track) introduces both the complexities of their style, together with what
can only be described as instant pop appeal. New single “Shake” is equally
splendid, with harmonies and vocal interaction that would make Brian Wilson sit
up and take note, while “Grave Shift” indicates a more solemn and sober side to
their sound, without forgoing any of the elements that make them so utterly
enticing. Magical.

Tuesday, 18 February 2014

A magical double header as two great acts present a
night of songs of wonder and dreams.

Multi-instrumental wizard Chris Conway's cosmic and
dreamlike songs are delivered with a dry wit, and a warm heart. This year he
celebrates 25 years as a pro musician, and has released over 100 albums in many
genres.

Mia and the Moon are sisters Laura & Mary-Anne
Ratcliffe with the most astounding voices and stage presence and they cast a
spell with their harmonies and timeless musical style. They tour the country,
and have been featured on national television.

Remember;
always check with the venue before travelling, or grab a ticket direct from the
site: www.themusicianpub.co.uk

The head of music at Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra has said
streaming will soon be included in the top 40 singles chart.

Speaking at a
Radio Academy event in London, George Ergatoudis said play counts from services
like Spotify and YouTube could be included as soon as this summer.

While countries
such as the US and Germany already count music streams, the UK chart is based
on sales alone.

The Official
Charts Company says there is no firm date set for the change.

Chief executive
Martin Talbot told the BBC the company was still working out the
"how" and "when" behind the plans.

In the UK,
music streaming increased by 33.7% in 2013 and now accounts for nearly 10% of
revenues from recorded music. In the last year 7.4 billion songs were streamed
via premium or ad-funded music services.

Daft Punk's Get
Lucky was the most streamed track of 2013 in the UK, ahead of Bastille's
Pompeii and Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines.

Last year was
also a fifth successive record year for British singles sales, up 6% to 188.6m
with the vast majority - 99.6% - accounted for by digital downloads.

Speaking in
Music Week last week, Mr Talbot said: "We are beginning to look at this,
as every market is - but we have a lot of due diligence to do before making
what would be a significant jump in the UK."

He cited issues
including what kind of streams should be counted and the possible impact on new
and independent artists.

The company
will also have to decide how many "plays" of a YouTube video or
Spotify track would count as the equivalent of one sale.

There will also
be questions about how long a user has to listen to a track before it is
counted - some statisticians equate a 30-second stream to one play, others
prefer only to count users who stream an entire song.

Mr Talbot's
statement to Music Week was in response Universal Music UK boss, David Joseph,
who told the magazine that the UK charts risk becoming irrelevant if they don't
begin including streaming soon.

The Official
Charts Company has previously explained that the UK chart methodology and
market are both very different to America, where the Hot 100 takes into account
radio airplay.

The company
launched a separate Official Streaming Chart in 2012.

Mr Ergatoudis
said merging that data into the Top 40 would be one of the biggest transitional
changes in the Official Chart's history.

Monday, 17 February 2014

A stalwart of her local New England scene, Lynne
Taylor has been a professional musician since she was 14 years old, playing
solo and in various groupings. When comparisons to other artists are mentioned,
names like Tori Amos, Fiona Apple and Sheryl Crow are often referenced, but
there’s also a timelessness to Taylor’s best work – and there’s plenty of it to
be found on “When Lightning Strikes” - to spark memories of Buffy Sainte Marie,
Carole King and a gaggle of revered ‘70s west coast songwriters.

Her instrument of choice is the piano, though the
majority of her new songs are presented within a full band setting, where unlikely
rhythms and eclectic arrangements are explored and investigated. It makes “When
Lightning Strikes” a riveting listen, and the listener can expect nothing
except the wholly unexpected.

“Butterfly” launches the collection, and its simple,
insistent piano motif is soon added to by a half chanted / half sung vocal and
tempered stings – the effect is simultaneously stimulating, strangely languid
and utterly beguiling. It’s followed by the jaunty, country-rock-wired “Back By Suppertime”, a song and delivery that would have sat
perfectly on Gene Clark and Carla Olson’s classic “So Rebellious A Lover”
record - nice guitar solo, too.

A Spanish influence comes
to bear on “Pablo's Glue”, the longest track on the album, where Latin guitars
emphasize the narrative, and the percussion-heavy “Angel That Flew” stretches
Taylor’s vocal chords, and brings to mind aborigine mantra and primal movement.
She’s unafraid to get her hands dirty with a little political comment (“Grand Empire”) and adds to her palette with the jazz-specked
classicism of “No Words”.

In the hands of a lesser
artist “When Lightning Strikes” may
have come across as unfocussed or confused, but not so here. There’s a singular
musical vision behind these eleven tracks, and Taylor must take full credit for
delivering a super album that celebrates and rejoices in its diversity, but is
never distracted by it.

Earlier this year, Brighton duo Royal Blood made
their first public musical statement - a 3 minute slice of thrilling, primal
rock & roll called 'Figure It Out' that appeared unannounced on the band's
Soundcloud page but was soon picking up serious plaudits.

Now Royal Blood are pleased to announce details of their debut single.
Available on 7" and download, the self-produced 'Out Of The Black' will be
released on 11th November on Black Mammoth Records. It’s a single that wrings
the maximum amount of noise, aggression and pure youthful exuberance out of the
most minimal of ingredients, featuring nothing more than Mike Kerr's vocals and
bass and Ben Thatcher's drums.

Remember;
always check with the venue before travelling, or grab a ticket direct from the
site: www.themusicianpub.co.uk

Sunday, 16 February 2014

Sales of NME have hit their lowest yet, falling below
20,000 copies a month during the second half of 2013 despite last year's
relaunch.

New ABC
circulation figures show that the 62-year-old publication sold an average of
just 18,184 a week.

It marked a
drop of 21% from December 2012, when each issue was selling about 23,000
copies.

A rock music
institution, the NME's circulation has dropped every year since 2009, despite
several relaunches.

Its last major
rival, Melody Maker, closed in 2000 when circulation dropped to 32,206.

However, the
NME's publishing director, Jo Smalley, told the BBC the magazine was not in
danger of closing, and had actually seen advertising revenues increase by 49%
over the past 12 months.

The circulation
figures are "part of a much bigger picture, which is what the NME is doing
as a brand", he said.

The NME website
gets 1.4m users per week, while the digital edition of the magazine sells 1,307
copies a week, and thousands of people attend NME live events and concert
tours.

"We've
found lots of other ways to monetise the brand and to reach the consumers
because, let's be honest, there's a lot more competing for their time
now," said Smalley.

"For some
people, print is still very important. For other people, they're interested in
engaging with the brand online or via social media. And we're serving those
audiences in all those ways."

TV listings dominate

The NME's
circulation figures are part of an overall downward trend. Music monthlies such
as Q magazine and market-leader Mojo also recorded double-digit falls in
readership, while teen publication Top of the Pops Magazine dropped 23%.

Weekly hard
rock title Kerrang! also fell, reaching 35,127 people a week, down from 38,556
in 2012.

Film bible
Empire shed 22,000 readers, with an average monthly circulation of 145,117;
while its rival Total Film lost 15% of its readership, with monthly sales of
55,316.

However, the
title sold an extra 12,134 copies in its digital edition, placing it in the top
10 e-magazines.

Gadget magazine
T3 was the biggest-selling digital title, downloaded 22,319 times every month.

Magazine sales
have been in decline for several years, with websites like Mail Online and the
BBC competing for readers' attention.

But despite the
wide availability of news websites, current affairs publications had a healthy
2013, with sales of The New Statesman and news digest The Week both increasing.

Good
Housekeeping also overtook Glamour to become the top selling women's glossy
monthly title, selling an average of 410,981 copies a month, a lead of just
500.

But TV listings
magazines continued to rule the roost, with TV Choice the UK's biggest
publication, achieving weekly sales of 1.3m - a five-year high.

The publication
not only benefitted from the closure of TV Pick, but stole readers from What's
On TV (down 14% to 1,04m) and Radio Times (down 7% to 826,302).

"The
legacy of the ill-fated TV Pick launch has only been a positive one for TV
Choice," said TV Choice's publishing director Liz Watkinson. "Even as
our cover price moved back up at the start of the autumn our readers, both new
and existing, stayed with us.

Wednesday, 12 February 2014

Every once in a while you come across something on
the internet that makes you go "wow." It may be a video, picture,
song, band, or anything of the sort. In this case, it's the amazing virtuosity
of Canadian fingerstyle guitarist Ewan Dobson. Ewan Dobson performs finger
picking at it's finest. So much so that his Time 2 YouTube video has so far
received 12.5 million hits and counting. Released as a download single it has
become a global hit.

Dobson creates classic music, modern music and everything in between with only
his guitar and finger picking. No bass, no drums, no vocals; nothing. It's just
a one man show, and quite honestly, that's all you need. Audiences can expect
masterful command of the acoustic guitar performed like no other can or has yet.

Remember;
always check with the venue before travelling, or grab a ticket direct from the
site: www.themusicianpub.co.uk

Tuesday, 11 February 2014

For people who don’t necessarily like heavy metal,
but if you do you’ll really like it, we promise! A hilariously kick-arse tour
through the history of heavy metal by the UK’s foremost metalhead stand-up
comedian. Want to learn how to headbang? Always wondered what happens in a
moshpit? Keen to learn the difference between blackened thrash and grindcore?

WARNING: This show will contain references to the
musical genre known as heavy metal, not a loosely scientific defined subset of
elements that exhibit metallic properties.

Remember;
always check with the venue before travelling, or grab a ticket direct from the
site: www.themusicianpub.co.uk

UK & US Tours Announced
'Greatest Hits' out now via Night School Records

Since the release of her first official recordings in late 2013, The Space
Lady's myth has grown larger and more life-like. Emerging from the shadows of cultdom,
she is embarking on her first ever live performances in some of the world's
most venerated venues and spaces. While accustomed to hours of street
performances to bedazzled and bewildered passers-by, The Space Lady's World
Tour 2014 will be the first time she has performed on stage to dedicated
followers.

Beginning this episode of the saga in Bellingham, USA, The Space Lady will
visit the North West of America before heading down the Californian cost,
ending at a Mount Analogue / Dublab presentation in L.A. From there she will
visit the United Kingdom and Ireland for an intensive mission taking in
Manchester Art Gallery, a Victorian bandstand in Glasgow, Dundee Contemporary
Arts and many other cities. After a summer break The Space Lady will be hitting
mainland Europe.